Folding washbasin.



PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908.

H. BARGALOW.

FOLDING WASHBASIN. I APPLICATION FILED MAR.5, 1904. RENEWED HAY a1, 1907.

. Witnesses v i i as will appear as the invention is more comT" sins designed fied which ,stationary wash basin so as to render removal stationary basin at intervals only, leaving .tionary was'hstandor the like and also to HUBERT BARCALOW, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

FOLDING wasmasm.

No. s7e,42e.

-' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14; 1908.

l Application filed March 5. 1904 Serial No. 196.687- Renewed May 81. 190'I.- Serialli'o- 376.500.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, HUBERT BARCALOW, a citizen of the United States, residin at Philadelphia, in the county of Philade phia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Folding Washbasin, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to folding wash barimarily to be carried by travelers and used in connection with wash ba-' sins in hotels or other public buildings to insure the user against possible infection by any disease germs that may be present and to insure a degree of cleanliness ordinarily not obtainable in basins in public or semi-public buildings. The principal object of the invention is to rovide a wa 'h basin which may be readil olded into very small compass and whic will adapt itself to the form. of the ordinary stationary wash basin employed in hotels and the like so that the stationary wash basin will form a supporting structure for thefolding wash basin which will serve as a lining for the stationary wash basin and prevent the contact of the Water in the folding basin from coming into contact with the surface of the stationary basin and thereby becoming contaminated by disease germs, if any are present upon the surface of the stationary basin.

A further object of the invention is to provide a foldi wash basin of the type speci 1 rest in an ordinary stationary wash basin and be supported thereby, but which will not adhere to" the surface of the of the folding basin diflicult and whicl when in use, will contact with the surface of the channels between the points of contact for the downward passage of water between the folding basin and the stationary basin so that the water may escape through the ordinary waste ipe.

A still further object of the invention is to render the basin self-supporting in order that it may be employed independently of a stahave the basin sufficiently yieldable and elastic to readily accommodate the foot of a user of the device. Y

With the above and otherobjects in vieW.,

letely disclosed, the same consists in a novel ormof folding wash basinhereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accom anying drawings, and having the novel eatures thereof particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the folding Wash basin. Fig. 2 is a reverse plan view. Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the stationary .wash basin and the folding basin.

- Referring to the drawings, in which corresponding parts are designated by similar 0 aracters of reference, B designates the en -tire wash basin which is preferably constructed of rubber, but may be made of other flexible and preferablyelastic material. .The basin B is referably of the oblong form illustrated and is made seamless.

1, but when placed in a stationar wash basinand filled with water the elastlcity of the material of which the basin is composed will permit it to conform in a general way to the dimensions of the basin in which it is laced, unless the supporting basin is considbrably larger than the folding basin. v

In order to make the basin B readily foldable, its walls and bottom are com osed, for the most part, of comparatively t 'n material, but surrounding the bottom of the basin on the under side I place a supporting rim 1 provided at interva s with are es 2 to permit the passage of water to the escape ipe, and extending upward and outward om the rim- 1 are strengthening ribs which reyent the collapse of'the basin and w 'ch The form of the basin when empty is that shown in Fig.

revent the outer surface of the folding basin om lying in close contact with the surface of the stationary or su porting basin. The upwardly extending ribs are of two types, those designated 3 which extend from the rim 1 outward and upward only and those designated 4 which are arranged substantially arallel and extend in both directlons from t e rim 1, their extensions beneath the bottom of the folding basin being provided to prevent the bottom of the basin, from being forced downward into contact with the top of the escape pipe and so cutting offthe esca e of water therethrough.

T e ribs 4 are arranged at o posite sides of a depression 5 in the thic ened up or margin of the basin B, and it is intended that the overflow of water-from the basin shall be allowed to take place only at its de ression, the ribs 4 then serving to guide t e over 1o sion 5 passes downward flow downward to the waste pipe the bot tom of the stationa basin. a certain amount of water wi be splashed over the top of the folding basin atrother oints, however, the ribs 4 are so formed t at they do not contact with the surface of the support-- ing basin at all points but leave passa es between which t e water can flow. ater s lashed over the top of the foldingv basin at p with the usual esca e pipe E at the bottom.

t e ends or at the side 0 posite the depresbetween the ribs 3 and passes through the arches 2 in the support rim l. Q i

In ig. 3, the basin B is illustrated in position in a stationary wash basin 8 provided folding basip andpasses downwardto the escape pipe.

By providing the overflow depression 5 in the rim of the folding basin, the said folding basin is adapted for use with a continuously flowing stream of;water,.the overflow being almost wholly limited to the de ression 5 and being guided downward to t e bottomv basin in such way that itsof the station'a return to the 'fo ding basin after overflow is completel prevented.

From t e foregoing description and drawings it will be readily seen that the basin forming the present invention can be quicklyl introduced into an ordinary stationary was basin, used, and then quickly removed by simply resting the folding basin at the side opposite the overflow depression in the upper margin to allow the water to flow out into the stationary basin. After use the folding basin may be quickly folded into com aratively small compass so that it may be placed in the pocket or carried convemently in a valise.

I as

If it is desired to allowthe basin to thoroughly before folding to pack in a valise or place ina pocket, 'the basin ma be convenientl suspended to facilitate t e drainage vof t e final drops of water by any ordinary suspension device eng the opening which is provided in the"wall of the basinv near the u permargin, as shownlin Fig, 3. While it s intended that a basin will ordinarily be used inconnection with a stationary wash basin, as illustrated in Fig. .3, it may be used without such a shilpportin basin, es ecially if only partially ed wit water.

en a small quantity only of water is introduced into the folding basin, there is some outwarddistention of the walls of the basin,

I but it is not sufiicient to cause the water to escape. a

folded when not in use, the upstan By reason of the fact that water seeks its own level, the pressure thereof will be equal in all directions thereby preventing collapse of the basinwhich is retained in an upright position by the stifiening ribs 3. Moreover,

1n su ciently elastic to rmit of its sides being lacing a foot in the basin, the latteris drawn together and its op osite ends being 1 4 extended by the pressure 0 the heel and toes of the foot without danger of collapse of the basin. 4

The advantages of having the folding basin susceptible of use without a sup orting basin under some circumstances w1 be obvious, as it is not always convenient to support the basin upon a washstand and amovable washbowl or basin to sup ort the folding basin is not alwa s obtaina Is. I

Havingthus describe the construction and use of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is: 1. A portable lining for stationary wash basins consisting of an im erforate bowlshaped body formed of flexible water-proof material, the upstanding sides of the bowl having external u right stiffening ribs to engage the inner wal of a stationary wash basin and space the upright walls of the bowl therefrom, the bottom of the bowl having external ribs .disposedat op osite sides of-the center .thereof to engage t e bottom of the stationary wash basin and support the bottom of the bowl against collapsing and closing the outlet of the basin, the upper peripheral edge of the bowl being unobstructed between the tops of the u standingflanges to permit of an over-' flow mm the bowl downwardlyat the outer side thereof, the bottom ribs being arched to permit of the overflow assin therethrough and into the outlet of t e'basln. 2. A portable lining for stationarywash basins consisting of an im erforate bowlshaped body formed of fiexl 1e waterroof material and capable of being collaipse and sides of the bowlbeing rovided with uprig 't external stifiening ri s to engage a was basin and space the bowl therefrom, the bottom of the bowl having an external annular de ending rib ahd intermediate transverse n s .at

opposite sides of the middle of the bottom of t e bowl and within the annular rib, the u per peripheral edge of' the bowl between t e:

upper ends of the ufprightribs be unob structed to'permit o overflow from t e bowl downwardly at the outer side thereof and the bottom having arches through which the overflow may pass to the outlet of the wash basin. ,1;

'3. A portable lining for stationary wash basins consisting of an im erforate bowlshaped body formed of flexi 1e waterroof material and capable of being collapse and folded when not in use, the bottom of the bowl provided with external depending flanges at opposite sides of the center thereof to support the bottom of the bowl and prevent the same from collapsing and closing the outlet of a wash basin, the upstanding sides of the bowl having external upright stiffening ribs to engage the walls of a wash basin and space the bowl therefrom, the upper peripheral edge of the bowl having a de ression located between a pair of the uprig t ribs and forming an overflow outlet for the bowl, and

. wash basin with their lower ends engaging the peripheral bottom rib, the upper peripheral edge of the bowl being externally unobstructed between the upright ribs and pro vided with a depression forming an overflow outlet, one of the upstanding ribs being located at each end of the depression and extended across the bottom of the bowl at opposite sides of the center thereof, the eripheral rib being provided with arches ocated between the upstanding ribs, the rib extensions within the annular rib also having arches through which the overflow may pass to the outlet of the basin. I

5. As a new article of manufacture, a molded bowl-shaped wash basin which is seamless, flexible, water-proof, and capable of being folded into compact form and having solid integral upright stifiening ribs molded upon its exterior to support the bowl when containing a li uid.

6'. A device of the class described comprising a bowl-shaped body formed of flexible water-proof material capable of being folded and provided upon its exterior with upright stiffening ribs to support the device when containing a liquid and constituting spacers for contact with the walls of a wash basin to prept vent the walls of the device from adhering thereto, the device being provided with an overflow outlet adjacent its upper edge.

7. A device of the class described comprising a bowl-shaped body formed of flexible water-proof material capable of being folded and provided with external upstanding stiffening ribs to support the bowlwhen containing water and constituting spacers for contact with the walls of a wash basin, there being a depression in the upper edge of the bowl to constitute an overflow.

' In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

HUBERT BARCALOW. Witnesses:

I. B. GILBERT,- FRANK CRAVEN. 

